Reactors and Radiation
by Drappersky
Summary: In which Tony Stark and Bruce Banner meet in their 20's at a science summit instead of through SHIELD. They hit it off help each other out and end up having a one night stand. Science Bros


**Note:** This is a songfic prompt to Sam Smith's "Stay With Me" made for Kweandee. I may add one or two more chapters if the mood strikes. Thanks for reading :) comments welcome.

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><p>My torture was utter and complete as I checked my phone for what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour. Curse Obadiah's bald head, how did I let him manipulate me like this? The ISC conference was a bust. The very idea that Obadiah had described it as interesting and told me that I was sure to find someone to bounce ideas off of was almost comical. Not only because everyone in the room was old enough to be my father, but leading innovation my ass, the lectures I was being forced to subject myself to were repetitive and uninspired at best. I learned everything of importance about the market in my first year as the CEO of Stark Enterprises and I could pull more innovative thoughts out of a chop shop's reject pile. Yet the speaker continued to ramble on with his tedious speech.<p>

Well screw this, Obadiah was a liar. I was not going to sit through three days of this crap. I was out of there.

Bruce was never big on crowds but this Science Summit was his best chance at finding out how to get his research funded and maybe snag a job in the process. The conference was supposedly put together for the best and brightest scientists and innovators. The problem was that Bruce looked extremely out of place. First of all, he was the youngest in attendance, by far. Second, he was the only less the perfectly dressed person in a room full of suits. This should have been an amazing opportunity for him, but the judgmental gazes of the privileged were burning a hole through the back of his second-hand blazer. Finally, the pressure was too much; the lectures were out-of-date anyway and staying was just not worth the censure. Head down, he walked to the nearest exit, shoving the door open. Thump!

Tony had his phone out calling his driver, the second he escaped that hellhole. He knew Obi would rip him a new one for leaving, but even that didn't seem so bad when faced with even another fifteen minutes of feeling like he was bleeding out through his ears. Pain.

"Owww, fuck! What in the hell?" Tony swore, clutching his head.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!"

In his haste to get away from the scathing stares in the auditorium, Bruce wasn't paying attention and hit someone in the back of the head with the door. Great job Bruce, he berated himself, you just assaulted a man. I am so getting thrown out. He apologized immediately, thinking it was one of the older gentlemen attending the lecture, given that the man was wearing a very nice suit. But as he turned to check on the injury, Bruce found himself staring into the watering brown eyes of a handsome twenty year old. Oh wow…

Tony eyed up the person that had opened the door into his head. His clothes were mismatched and old, while unruly curls gave the impression that he was too young. The guy didn't look like he belonged here, but he must, since he just came out of that horrible lecture. No one in their right mind would crash that party. It was good to know there was someone attending that was younger than forty. Rubbing the back of his head, he dismissed the guy's apology.

"That's okay, doesn't hurt that bad, you surprised me more than anything." Smiling he stood up to his full height and held out his hand. "I'm Tony. Are you trying to ditch the weekend of old men and mind-numbing entertainment, too?"

Smiling tentatively at Tony's joke, he shook the offered hand. "Yeah, I couldn't stand it in there. My name's Bruce." Tony was very charismatic; it was disconcerting, but at least Bruce wasn't the only one who was disappointed with the conference.

"Bruce, huh," Tony said, looking him up and down. He wasn't a bad-looking guy, if you could get past what he was wearing. "You seem a little young to be a professor and you're definitely not dressed right to be an heir to a multinational corporation, like yours truly. What brings you here?"

Bruce blushed a little under the scrutiny and tried to straighten his blazer. "I'm looking to get in on the ground floor of a company. I want to develop my research on gamma rays and cell growth. I just finished my doctorate in nuclear physics."

"A man after my own heart," Tony flirted, "My first Ph.D. was in physics. I just finished my second in electrical engineering this year. I've been working in R & D for five years now."

Bruce looked around nervously. How important was Tony that he'd be working that long already? He couldn't be more than twenty-three. "Wow" Bruce fidgeted, "that must be nice."

Tony noticed that Bruce was looking a little uncomfortable, but he was the most interesting thing about this conference. Maybe Tony would hang around a while longer, if Bruce was willing to have a discussion with him "Want to get a drink?"

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><p>Bruce found it odd that someone like Tony wanted to spend time with him, but they really hit it off. A drink at a coffee shop turned into dinner back at the hotel, which then turned into staying up late into the night, talking science.<p>

Bruce had settled into a comfy chair next to Tony's bed, blazer discarded, tie gone and legs splayed, listening to Tony complain about running a company.

"Can you believe that? I mean, what am _I_ supposed to do about hippy protesters? We are a weapons' design and manufacturing company. We protect their sorry asses and they think we are destroying the world. Now everyone's looking at me, saying we need to do something about this." He shot Bruce a long-suffering glance and flopped onto the bed, unbuttoning his dress shirt. Bruce hummed in the back of his throat, thinking.

"Hummm…. Well, maybe if you made something to give back to society. Made the world a better place, they would lay off." Bruce conjectured "I understand your company's aim, but if the protesters are that bad it might not hurt to play into their hands." Furrowing his brow, Tony looked a little annoyed at Bruce's suggestion. "Hear me out, Tony. All of your factories run on finite natural resources, polluting the earth, making the weapons they hate."

"Yeah, so?" Tony huffed, rubbing his eyes.

"Say, you invent a new clean energy, something that's self-sustaining, that can power all your factories. Bam! Not only do you get the hippies off your back by being environmentally conscientious, you would also have the start of a monopoly on clean energy. No one is even thinking about self-sustaining energy right now. It would be a great move on both sides." Bruce leaned forward, shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, collar open.

"You know, that's a really good idea" Tony said, toeing off his shoes, "and I bet I could even get the board members to approve it." Still exasperated, he ran his hand through his hair, standing it up on end "but, like you said, no one is working on that kind of thing right now. Where would we even start?" Tony glanced over at Bruce. The floor-to-ceiling windows let in the city lights, highlighting his soft smile.

"I would start with palladium. You use it in your missiles already. It has more uses than to just blow things up." He was right, of course, but Tony had never thought to consider palladium's uses as a power core. Plans started forming for a viable prototype to show the board.

"God, Bruce, you're a genius" he stated, smiling at Bruce like a fool "and coming from me, that's like twice the compliment." Tony hadn't felt this amazing in months. Talking to Bruce was better than drinking. Bruce's sincere eyes and wild hair were an entirely welcome change. A thought crossed his mind as his sat up in bed, sliding to the edge to sit across from Bruce, he asked "How are you not snapped up by some great company by now?"

Bruce sighed, "Connections, I suppose a nobody like me needs them. Any company that knows its stuff is not going to take a chance on a kid with no real life experience. It doesn't matter how smart I am. Especially because of how obscure working with gamma radiation for medical procedures is" he seemed resigned, but there was a fire and conviction as he finished, "but I know that is what I want to do."

Tony considered Bruce, "I think I could help you out there. There's this guy, General Ross, he's in charge of the special research department of the military. My company collabs with them all the time. I bet he could get you in on this new project, it's a Super Soldier thing. They're looking into cell repair and improvements to make soldiers stronger and heal faster. They would absolutely trip over themselves to get someone with your problem-solving skills on the team."

"Really? That would be a great place to start. Is he here for the conference?" Bruce asked hopefully.

"I'm not sure, but if he isn't here himself, there is defiantly a representative from the army. They could point you in the right direction."

"Thanks, I had no idea where to start." Bruce laughed, collapsed back into the chair and closed his eyes. "I guess we solved each other's problems."

It was weird to think they had only met a few hours ago. Tony felt like they'd been friends for years. It was amazing how different they were and yet somehow they complemented each other, like electricity and magnetism. True, Bruce was little rough around the edges, not someone Tony would normally spend time with, but his mind was absolutely fabulous. That was when Tony realized, he wanted to keep him.

The lights in the room were dimmed, making everything feel close and warm. Bruce's head was propped up on the chair's backrest, exposing a line of skin that started at the v of his unbuttoned shirt and led up to his neck, jawline and slightly parted lips. One rebellious curl fell directly in the middle of his forehead, as the rest of his bangs swept to the side. Yes, Bruce should stay. A hot need coursed through his veins as he leaned in close enough to touch Bruce. Tony knew it was an infatuation, brought on by the adrenaline rush of inventing new technology, but all the better reason to ask now.

"Hey, Bruce" he called, nudging the younger man's leg with his knee.

"Yeah" Bruce replied while smiling sleepily, body open and pliant.

"You want to stay the night?" Bruce lifted his head.

"What? No, don't worry about it. My room is … well not close, but in the same building. I think I can make it there." Tony reached out and slowly slid his hand up Bruce's thigh. "I think you should stay."

His other hand brushed along Bruce's cheek. Finding its way to the back of his neck, Tony's fingers locked in the short curls. Bruce tensed, but didn't pull away or try to stop it. He watched Tony move, confusion and a little worry playing across his face. Their eyes connected as Tony placed a knee between Bruce's open legs and bent down. Lips met and lingered, Tony's kiss was mellow and questioning.

"Oh" Bruce gasped as Tony's intentions finally clicked. That was not how Bruce had planned to spend his weekend, but at the same time, why not? He didn't want to leave and believe it or not, this wasn't the first time that science talk had led to more. Bruce pulled Tony down into a more heated kiss, accepting warm, eager lips. His hands found their way under Tony's shirt, running up his back as Tony moved to straddle his hips.

Shirts hit the floor as they dragged each other back onto the bed. Bruce could tell that Tony was considerably more experienced than him. Where Bruce fumbled, Tony took command unbuckling, unzipping and never stopped landing enticing kisses all over his body.

"I'm not very good at this." Bruce muttered as he fumbled with Tony's belt.

"That's all right" Tony smirked and then lay back, taking in Bruce's flushed body.

"I'm good enough for both of us." He whispered, pulling Bruce down on top of him and rolling his hips in the most distracting way. Bruce moaned, hands latching onto Tony's hipbones as his head dropped into the space between Tony's shoulder and neck.

"I'm not sure that's comforting." He laughed, breathing hard. Tony stilled, arms wrapped securely around Bruce. Their bodies pressed against each other, head to toe.

"Just promise you'll stay." he said. Bruce pulled back, looking into unusually vulnerable eyes.

"Of course I will," Bruce replied, kissing him softly on the forehead before sliding his hand into Tony's, as they fell deeper into each other.


End file.
